Finding Family
by enthusiasticwriter
Summary: On a mission to find her lost brother, Jade Harley finds herself with unlikely allies on board an airship. Small steampunk AU.


**((Hello! So I wrote this Small one-shot steampunk AU I wrote for an English class and I thought I might as well publish it here. ^^ I do not own the title image, but I give credit to the artist and the link to the image can be found at the bottom of the page.**

Jade Harley woke up to the sound of whirring engines and steam and for a brief moment she forgot where she was. Then it came back to her. She was on board a small airship any lying on a small cot. She was on a ride to get to the other side of the large city of London to find her missing brother, Jake. He went missing when the war started. She sat up, shuddering as she thought of it. The war that had lasted four years. It ravaged the country, splitting it into two halves, the West and the East. The two were both fighting to gain control of the whole country, and it showed no signs of stopping. Five years ago her brother went over to the West side to visit and attend to work business. What was supposed to be a three month trip turned into a two year trip as the war started and travel to the other side became impossibly expensive and dangerous. While he was gone 15 year old Jade was left alone in the East, where she learned to fend for herself on the streets. She picked up odd jobs at taverns and was known around as being bright and cheerful. Two years later her brother came back, looking tired but strangely well-dressed. He stayed for a few months, but something about him had changed. Once the caring older brother, he was now cold and always carried two pistols with him. Jade thought it better not to question it, she just smiled and was grateful he was back safe with her.

Four months later as things were getting back to normal, he disappeared again, like smoke in the wind. Taking his stuff and leaving a small vague note of apology in rushed writing.

 _Dear Jade, I'm so very sorry but I found that I must return to the West for important business. Please forgive me and remember to always stay the bright young sister I love_

 _Love, Jake._

She knew something was wrong. Maybe he was threatened, or blackmailed. Either way, it wasn't like him to just leave her alone again. From that moment on Jade promised she would find him and bring him back. She made that promise two years ago. Trips to the other side were expensive and no matter how hard she worked, she couldn't make it and she was starting to get desperate. That is, until she met Roxy late at night as the bar she was working at was just about to close. She came in and made a deal with Jade to get her to the West side and Jade agreed eagerly, leading her to her current circumstances.

She snapped out of her thoughts and got ready. She made her way into the main cabin, smoothing down her curly black hair and fixing her round oversized glasses on her face as she blinked slowly and looked around the gondola of the airship. It had been a week since she joined the small crew of four and she was slowly starting to get used to it. Two patched pilots seats and a makeshift control panel sat before smudged glass that looked out over the sprawling city of London. The grated metal floors were dirty and copper pipes ran their ways around the ship with steam coming off in short bursts from some places. A small sectioned-off place Jade came from worked as the living quarters and way in the back were the boilers and all the machinery that made the ship fly. In one of the pilot seats sat Roxy, her feet on the dash and a half empty flask in one hand while the other hand lazily piloted the ship through the air. She jumped up and smiled as Jade came in, her short blonde hair bouncing around her. "Hey, Jade! Glad to see you're up! I have good news for you darling, we should reach the otherside by nightfall and I found a old fancy apartment that's just begging to be broken into," Roxy said.

Jade smiled a little, an uncomfortable yet familiar tight feeling inside her as she sat down on the other worn out pilot's seat.

They were looters. Or as Roxy was quick to correct her, people who just borrowed stuff and put it to a better use. They often went to some old, abandoned, war-ravaged town under the cover of night and found a place with the things they happened to need. Sometimes they went to the remains of the metalshop for scraps, or sometimes it was the biggest house on the block for money and maybe some leftover food that wasn't ruined yet by spoilage and wild animals. It wasn't the most moral thing that Jade could have been doing, but it was the only way she was getting to the other side to find her brother.

"After I help you with this, I'm leaving to find my brother," Jade said.

Roxy's shoulders slumped dramatically, "We can't be all that bad to be around, can we? Come on, we need you, and your gun skills," she said it in a joking tone, prompting Jade to laugh despite the sadness creeping in at the thought of missing her. She shook it off quickly.

At that moment Dirk walked in from the back, grease covering his hands and goggles perched on top of his shockingly blonde hair. He looked to be only a few years older than Jade physically but his eyes were of someone that had seen everything. He stared at them both, raising an eyebrow.

"Does anyone pay any attention to piloting this ship or do we want to crash into the ground and burn?" Dirk said, frowning. The comparison between Roxy and Dirk was startling. While Roxy's voice was as light and bubbly as a overflowing kettle, Dirk's was flat and cool, like a lake just frosted over.

Roxy laughed him off, "If you're so worried about it, then you pilot this thing. You're the one that built it."

"I didn't build all of it. When we stole the ship it already had the main components," Dirk said.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, small details." But Jade smiled to herself as Roxy turned back to the wheel and started paying a little more attention.

Soon after Dave, Dirk's younger brother walked in from the back, attracted by the conversation. His presence was made known by the light sound of metal against metal as he walked on his prosthetic leg. He never talked about it to Jade, only that his brother had made it after an accident with a spy from the West side. Every now and then it would give off a little burst of steam as water ran through it to keep it from overheating. He was almost a mirror image of his brother, Though there was a few differences. Every now and then she could get him to crack a smile, and he liked talking to her on occasion when he wasn't busy fixing the boilers or pipes.

"We're going to raid something tonight," Jade said to him and she started to fill him and Dirk in on the details.

When she was finished he nodded. "Alright, I can get everything ready." And just like that the group went into the normal procedure that they went through every night. However this night was different. It was the first time the group had looted on the West side, enemy territory for all of them. Jade felt a small ball of nerves grow inside her. Once she was done helping them tonight, she would disappear and start her search for Jake.

As night fell Jade, Dave, and Dirk waited in dark clothes as Roxy carefully guided the small black ship between two broken buildings. Jade held back a smile as she listened to Roxy mutter curses under her breath. They were in a old city, with tall empty buildings crumbling in the sky. In the distance the sound of bombs rang through the night, a grim reminder of what they were doing.

The mission was simple. Jade stumbled as the ship came to a lurching stop on the ground. She dropped down out of the ship silently, her shotgun loaded. The ground was cold through Jade's worn leather boots and Dirk took the lead. She followed closely behind, watching the sides with her gun aimed at the inky blackness. Roxy watched the rear, totally serious for once. Dave had stayed behind to watch the ship and make sure the ship was ready for liftoff if something went wrong.

The party made their way down an old alley and stopped outside a back door. Dirk gestured at Jade and she stepped forward, aiming down the gun and shooting the handle off. The shot rang through the night and she flinched as it shattered the silence. The party went inside the dingy building, but Jade couldn't stop herself from staring in awe. Once a beautiful lobby for only the richest in the town, it was no longer a home to anyone but the few small rodents that scuttled in the shadows. A broken chandelier lay shattered on the ground and in a corner a piano sat gathering dust. It gave off an eerie, sad feeling and Jade swallowed nervously as she tightened her grip on her gun. The three made their way up a group of stairs and set to work. Jade made her way around in the darkness listening to every creak in the floor and quickly grabbing dust covered gadgets and anything they could sell for a few Euros on the black market. Once Roxy signaled that they took enough, Jade made her way back into the alley with Roxy and Dirk following closely behind her. That place gave her an uneasy feeling and she was glad to get back out into the cool night air.

As they made it out of the alley, Jade sensed someone and her stomach dropped to her feet. Three Western soldiers stood before them, guns aimed directly at them. But that's not what made her scared. One of them was her brother.

"Jake," she dropped the bag of stolen goods in disbelief and walking closer to him, relief and happiness filling her chest. She finally found him! "Jake, it's me! Jade! I was looking for you." She searched his face for any sign of recognition but only got a hard stare as his hands twisted tighter around his pistols. "Stay where you are and don't move." His voice was hard and she took a step back out of shock.

"Jade, get back here," Roxy said in a low voice. "These people are dangerous."

She turned to look back in confusion, Roxy motioned with frantic gestures to get Jade to come back to her, her eyes wide. Dirk looked like he was going to shoot Jake right on the spot.

"That is your brother?" He said, his voice tight.

"Yeah, this is Jake." She looked back at Jake, uneasiness growing inside of her at the look of hatred in his eyes. She had never seen that look before.

Dirk took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving Jake. "He's the one that shot off Dave's leg."

She whipped around, cold clutching her chest; gun clattering to the ground. There had to be a mistake. The other two soldiers kept their guns at her but she ignored them. She wanted answers.

"Jake, answer me. You didn't do those things did you?"

He smiled. Not a caring smile like she had seen so many times before, no, this one was dangerous. The two people beside him laughed.

"Sorry, but I can't deny it darling sister. Though I daresay I have shot a lot of people. They start to blur after a while."

Her hands clenched into fists and she felt tears gather in her eyes, behind her Roxy gasped. "Why?" Jade asked in a soft voice.

He laughed. "Oh, well. I must admit I am surprised you found me, so I'll tell you. I'm a spy for the West." He paused, seeming to enjoy the look of shock on her face, then said "Now that you know, however, I'm afraid you can't live anymore." Jade found herself staring down the barrel of his pistol and she took half a step back.

"You wouldn't shoot me, after I searched for you! I spent years looking for you!" He shrugged. "I never asked to be found Jade." He cocked the gun. "I was perhaps hoping that you had died off by now." and Jade felt her blood run cold. He wouldn't really shoot her would he? They were family. She felt far away and behind her, she heard Roxy scream "NO!" right before the bang of a gun. Jade squeezed her eyes shut and she hit the hard ground on her side, scraping her hands on the gravel, but she didn't feel any pain. Someone had pushed her out of the way of the gunfire.

She heard Jake swear and before he had another chance, she jumped for her gun and shot him dead in the chest. He fell without a sound, the light leaving his eyes all at once. Two other bangs from behind her and the other two guards went down. Crawling to look behind her she gasped. Dirk swayed on unsteady feet, a hand clenched to his side as red seeped through his fingers.

The world seemed muted and Roxy yelled at her to go and tell Dave while she wrapped an arm around Dirk and lead him towards the ship. Jade nodded quickly and sprinted off, finding Dave and frantically telling him what happened in panicked tones. He nodded silently as she talked and disappeared into the back room. A few minutes later, Roxy came in with Dirk barely conscious beside her. Desperate to help she helped lead him to the back room but was kicked out shortly after.

"You don't know anything about this," Dave said, "Get us out of here. We'll take care of him"

"Are you sure, I want to help." Jade said.

Dave nodded. "You will help by flying back into the East. We're not safe here. Trust me, We know what we're doing."

Jade sighed but nodded, running over to the control panel and thrusting the ship into the air. She blinked back tears as she flew higher into the sky. Behind her, a hoarse scream echoed through the cabin and she gritted her teeth, focusing on flying. She flew till the sun came up over the city and she could barely stay awake. Somewhere in the very back of her mind she thought this was good. If she was tired she couldn't think about what had happened. Early in the morning, Roxy came out of the back, bags under her eyes and looking exhausted. She sat down beside Jade and pulled out her flask again, taking a deep drink.

"He'll be alright." Roxy said after a moment.

Jade sighed in relief, a weight lifting of her chest. "Oh thank you. I can't believe it. "

She nodded. "It's not the first time Dirk took a bullet for someone, literally or figuratively. He's pretty tough."

Jade waited for her to elaborate but she didn't. After a moment she spoke again. " So, what are you going to do now?"

Jade shrugged, gliding the ship around a cloud. "I don't know. Now that Jake's dead, I don't have anything else to do." The word dead felt bitter in her mouth and she shuddered again. She felt hopeless right now and she held back tears as she looked down. The two girls sat in silence, until Roxy spoke up. "If you want you can stay with us."

Jade's heart jumped in her chest, "Really? Are you serious?"

Roxy smiled. "Yeah, of course! You're part of the family now. We would be sad to see you go after all of this."

Jade smiled, feeling happier than she had felt in a long time. The sun lit up the sky in a thousand shades of red as it rose over London. Behind her Dave and Dirk walked in, gazing out at the sunset with quiet smiles on their faces. She had finally found her real family.

( **(So that was it! I might expand on it one day, but for now I think it's good for now. I've never been that good at writing, this is just a hobby. If you notice any mistakes or have comments don't be afraid to drop a comment. I love to improve!**

 **Cover: /WVwKyjV**


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